Recently, Professor Ji-Yin Liu from Loughborough University, together with Rupal Mandania, Cihan Butun, and PhD candidate Gong Yuche, visited the School of Management of Shandong University to hold discussions on research cooperation and academic exchange. The session was attended by Professor Zhang Jianghua, Vice Dean of the School of Management; Associate Professor Liu Weibo; Assistant Researcher Ji Chenlu from Shandong University’s Data Science Institute; and Postdoctoral Fellow Yang Xiangyu from the School of Management, Shandong University. The session was presided over by Professor Zhang Jianghua.
Professor Zhang Jianghua began by extending a warm welcome to Professor Liu and his delegation. In his introduction, he highlighted that the two teams formally launched the “International Exchanges 2023 Cost Share” international collaboration project in 2024, jointly funded by the Royal Society of the United Kingdom and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC). The project is dedicated to innovative research on intelligent healthcare service models and management. He emphasized the team’s main research directions and frontier progress in hospital operations management and healthcare management, and shared experiences and development approaches concerning scientific research cooperation, international exchange, and the integration of academia, industry, and research. Assistant Researcher Ji Chenlu presented a detailed overview of the team’s composition, research areas, and representative achievements, showcasing its comprehensive strengths and internationalization level in disciplinary development, scientific innovation, and talent cultivation.
Professor Ji-Yin Liu provided a systematic introduction to the current research status and future development plans of the Loughborough University team. He reviewed the solid foundation of existing cooperation with Professor Zhang’s team and expressed anticipation for deeper collaboration under the Royal Society–NSFC project framework. Rupal Mandania, Cihan Butun, and PhD student Gong Yuche each introduced their research fields and conveyed strong interest in collaborating with the School of Management in the areas of hospital operations management, medical data analytics, and healthcare system optimization.
During the discussion session, both sides engaged in in-depth and lively discussions on topics such as joint postgraduate training, the practice of hospital operations management, healthcare management research, and international research cooperation. The two parties reached a consensus to further deepen communication and cooperation in the interdisciplinary fields of health management and data intelligence, based on the solid platform of the existing “International Exchanges 2023 Cost Share” project.
This discussion session provided high-quality study-abroad program resources for teachers and students of the School of Management, Shandong University, established an important bridge for regular communication between the two institutions, and contributed to promoting their coordinated development in academics and talent cultivation.
Loughborough University, founded in 1909, ranked 224th globally in the 2025 QS World University Rankings and is among the top 10 comprehensive universities in the UK. It has received the highest Gold Award in the national Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) and has been honored with the UK Queen’s Anniversary Prize seven times. The Loughborough University Business School is among the world’s top 1% business schools, holding quadruple accreditation from AACSB, EQUIS, AMBA, and CIM. Leveraging high-quality teaching resources and an internationalized education system, the School is committed to cultivating high-level business talents with global vision and innovative capability.
